I am doing everything I can to teach my grandsons the various things about survival these days. They love to go out waundering the forests and creeks with me and I love having them along. Last night we harvested a supper from nature’s grocery store and the youngest of the two learned how to pluck and clean birds. He had watched before but never actually done it. He came through it as a champion. We talked about the responsibility hunters have to take care of their catch so that it will make a fine meal and not be wasted.
I smiled when the oldest of the two came walking across a hay field with a hand full of birds that he had harvested in another field. Hunting upland game birds is much easier when you have good dogs because they tend to find what people cannot see and his retriever Brooke was walking by his side just as she should have been. A boy and a dog are just a special thing to see together. Noses like radar work wonders in thick undercover and a dog in such situations most certainly is a prized friend.
Checked my book sales reports later and was pleased. Sometimes I feel like writing ten books has no reward to it when sales are just not there. But thoughts like that are based upon my desire to make some money at my craft rather than the sheer joy of sharing my experiences and my knowledge of history. My mind wanders back over the years to the thousands of hours spent on practicing shooting, understanding how nature work, history books, my forefathers s and what people are missing when they buy all of their foods in grocery stores.
When I was a boy hunting and fishing were special. My parents appreciated the money my hunting and fishing them. And I felt so special in knowing that they valued my efforts. I tend to always make sure the thought processes of those who came before us are included. They knew so much that we have simply forgotten.
Let me know which books you have read and give me an opinion on them. Readers are the true measure of the worth of a novel and I will treasure your imput.
Have a great day and if you take a kid hunting you will never have to hunt for the kid. It is a world where true friendships and responsibility are fine tuned and carried over into life.